Instruments that cut with less force and hold their edge longer.
Peer-reviewed studies on treated surgical steel show lower drilling force, less wear, and reduced bacterial adhesion — and a named device maker uses it to extend the life of implant-machining tooling.
Request an evaluationSharper instruments, longer tooling life, cleaner surfaces
For instrument makers and device manufacturers, dull cutting edges and short tooling life drive cost, downtime, and — in the OR — more force and heat. Thermal Cycling treats the full volume of the metal, so cutting instruments stay sharper longer, the carbide tooling that machines implants lasts more pieces per tool, and stainless plate surfaces resist bacterial adhesion.
It’s not a coating: it doesn’t wear off and doesn’t change the part’s dimensions, appearance, or bulk alloy chemistry. The findings below are what independent research has measured on instruments, plate surfaces, and manufacturing tooling — presented as proof of concept, not as a claim about implanted devices.
As characterized in the studies and field reports below
- Reduced drilling force and wear on surgical cutting instruments (peer-reviewed)
- Longer useful life for cutting instruments before they dull
- Reduced S. aureus biofilm adhesion on stainless plate surfaces (peer-reviewed, in-vitro)
- Longer life on the carbide tooling used to machine implant components
- No coating, no dimensional change, no change to bulk alloy chemistry
The research and field results — as published
Surgical drill bits (peer-reviewed)
Katchky et al., Journal of Orthopaedic Research (2015), University of Toronto / Sunnybrook, ran a randomized, blinded study of treated 440A stainless drill bits. After 100 drilling cycles, treated bits showed lower drilling force (62.5 vs 76.8 N, p=0.015) and about 23% less wear (p<0.001); treated bits at 100 cycles performed like untreated controls at only 25–50.
Orthopaedic plates and biofilm (peer-reviewed)
Akens et al., BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (2018), found that treating stainless-steel plates reduced Staphylococcus aureus biofilm by roughly 2 logs (about 99%, p=0.0088) by reducing bacterial adhesion. The effect is anti-adhesion — not bactericidal — and this is a single, in-vitro study.
Implant-machining tooling (ConMed Linvatec)
ConMed Linvatec used Thermal Cycling to extend the life of the carbide end mills that machine surgical and implant components — from roughly 2 pieces to 6–10 pieces of tool life.
Material-property data (supporting)
Independent testing found Thermal Cycling raised cobalt tensile strength by about 8.7% — relevant context for cobalt-chrome implant alloys as a material-property data point, not a claim about implant performance.
Manufacture surgical instruments or implant components?
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